Home At Last
by BertieTiger
Summary: The two weeks that Greg was missing were the longest of my life." H/W established, warnings for mentions of rape and abuse.


**First story on my new laptop! If there are any spelling/grammar errors, blame this keyboard. It skips letters...**

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The two weeks that Greg was missing were the longest of my life. Nobody literally had a clue where he was; I couldn't sleep while he was gone & being at the hospital didn't even take my mind off of him. Everyone asked questions or expressed their sympathy and I just couldn't take it. However at home it was much worse. I was surrounded by all of his stuff - his clothes strewn across the floor, his guitars hanging on the walls, especially the photos on our bedside tables. Looking at them really hit home how much I missed him.

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Then finally, the day I'd been praying for finally arrived. I was putting out the trash one evening when, out of the corner of my eye I saw a dark figure stumbling towards me before it collapsed on our lawn. I rushed over, and my heart stopped when I realised who it was.

"Holy shit! Greg!" I checked his pulse, and it was barely there. I quickly got him up and walked him into the apartment, stumbling on our way to the bedroom. Once I lowered Greg onto our bed, I took a proper look at him. He had a black eye, his stubble was resembling more of a forest, his clothes were filthy and I was shocked to see that his shirt was stained with blood. Slowly, I began to peel off his clothes, and revealed his chest - covered in bruises of varying size & colour and multiple cuts. His back was striped with marks that I was sure were made by Gregs cane. When I started to take off his jeans, he began to stir. Taking a deep breath I managed to rid him of the dirty pants and gasped when I saw his leg. His scar was totally inflamed, the thigh clearly been the target of several beatings. I left Greg for a few minutes to run him a bath, and when I came back he was laying in the foetal position and hugging his knees to his chest. When he saw me his eyes went wide.

"Jimmy?" He whispered. I knelt beside the bed and took his hand, ignoring the flinch.

"I'm right here, Greg. I've run you a bath, come on." I slung his arm over my shoulder and walked him slowly to the bathroom and lowered him into the tub. I then began the task of washing the dirt from his body while Greg just sat here, staring at his reflection.

I worked my way down - first his hair and face (I expertly trimmed his stubble too), then his arms, chest and groin. When I scrubbed at his inner thighs, the surrounding water turned red. Greg noticed it, and his breathing sped up. I felt around his legs and couldn't find any cuts. As I cleaned his ass, the water turned even more red and Greg began to shake. The colour faded from my face as I put the pieces together.

_Please.. no…_

Greg looked at me, his eyes pleading with me to understand. I nodded, and finished cleaning him, taking extra care with his leg. I quickly got Greg out and wrapped him in our fluffiest towel. Once it came to getting him into his pyjamas, he seemed very reluctant to give up the towel - almost frightened. Sitting him on the bed, I knelt in front of him and put my hand on his knee.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Greg. I just think that you'd be more comfortable in these." I softly said to him, pointing at his clothes.

"Okay." Greg whispered, and let go of the towel. He even helped me pull his pyjama pants on. Once he was dressed, I got up onto the bed and leant back against the headboard, beckoning for Greg to follow. He did, crawling up the bed an onto my lap. I wrapped my arms protectively around him and he buried his head in my neck.

"I'm so glad you're safe, Greg." I choked out. "Everyone's been so worried about you! I've missed you so much, you wouldn't believe." Greg's arms came up around my waist, holding me tightly as I felt his tears landing on my bare shoulder.

" 'm sorry." He mumbled. I lifted his head to meet mine. He looked absolutely terrified.

"Greg, there's nothing to be sorry about! You did nothing wrong, okay? Absolutely nothing." I wiped his tears away with my thumbs. He slowly nodded and the corner of his mouth twitched upwards. "I love you so much." I whispered.

"Jimmy?" Greg whispered. "I'm tired." I smiled and got both of us settled down under the covers. Once I turned out the lights, Greg clung to my side. I turned to face him and pulled him against me. Gregs head went for its usual spot between my neck and solder. I think the dark scared him as his breathing was quite fast again. I tightened my hold on him.

"No monsters are coming to get you buddy, okay?" I soothed, rubbing circles on his back. Greg shuddered under my touch, but eventually drifted off to sleep, still holding onto me for dear life. It didn't take me much longer to fall asleep either.

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When I next looked at the clock, it read 8:15. I wondered what had woken me, when I looked down and saw Greg gazing up at me. I turned onto my back and watched in fond amusement as he pulled himself onto my chest.

"I missed you too, Jimmy." Greg whispered into my chest. "So, so much." I wrapped my arms around him and pressed him to my chest.

"It was like my nightmares… Every night he'd.. he'd.." Greg started to cry then, so I softly kissed his hair. "He'd.. hurt me. The he'd leave me on the floor of the basement. I wasn't supposed to move or make a sound when he.. hurt me. Duct tape on my mouth and rope on my hands and feet. And-"

"Ssh, Greg.." I whispered into his ear. He was an inch from breakdown, so I carefully lifted his face to look at me, tears rolling down both our faces.

"Nobody is ever going to hut you again, understand? That man can't get you anymore - you're safe now. He'd have to through me first. I'm so sorry that I wasn't there to save you." Greg wiped his face before brushing his lips against mine. I wasn't expecting it, and by hell I'd missed the feeling it gave me. When he pulled away, Greg made to back away so I grabbed his hand. His gaze snapped to our hands as I ran mine up and down his arm, smiling at him.

"Come on, let's have some breakfast, yeah? I'll make those pancakes you love!" Gregs eyes lit up and he kissed me. Seems I wasn't the only one who was glad that Greg was home.

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**Right now it's very early in the UK. I should be asleep now. Hope you liked it! :D**


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